I am thoroughly aware of the knowledge existent within the dental profession that the average person is extremely lax with the care of the teeth.
If we were to question someone during treating within the dentist's office about the amount of time spent each day on brushing of the teeth, I am sure the answer would be "I don't have time to do much brushing", or "I think I do enough brushing." Also, I am sure that if we questioned that person about his or her action in brushing other areas within the mouth, that person would probably say "I don't brush any place but my teeth", or "I don't think it is necessary to try to brush any place but my teeth", or "I understand that the teeth are the only significant areas which should be brushed only to remove plaque".
We have seen and heard many reports and recommendations for many years that plaque is the dangerous culprit residing on the teeth and soft tissues which must be removed and prevented by consistent and thorough brushing.
However, not enough has been stressed about the danger of the various bacteria which are allowed to grow and remain in tiny fissures between adjacent teeth, or in crevices within soft tissues of the mouth. These must be removed by persistent brushing and cleaning of the teeth and soft tissues within the mouth and conscientious flossing of remaining areas.
Poor dental hygiene leads to diseases of the gums, commonly known as gingivitis, the most frequent of the gum diseases.
Gingivitis usually starts at restricted areas of the mouth, such as between the teeth or between the teeth and gum edges. Inflammation which arises may continue to develop, and eventually lead to bleeding of the gums. If not properly treated, the teeth may become loosened, and even eventually require extraction.
Another area of great dental concern is the destruction of teeth by decay caused by acid products formed by bacterial reaction with certain food material allowed to remain too long in the mouth. The result of this form of dental decay is referred to as dental caries.
Again, we must assume that the greatest cause of the gingivitis and dental caries is poor oral hygiene, which might be blamed upon one or more of several primary actions, such as lack of knowledge upon the part of the patient, assumption by the patient that thorough cleansing has been achieved, or most importantly, improper or inefficient cleansing devices, including toothbrushes not adapted for thorough cleansing, and lack of flossing.
As a result of my long experience as a dentist and my long study of tooth cleansing devices, I cannot accept the excuses outlined above for not including the soft tissues of the mouth during thorough brushing of the teeth.
Further, in my long experience I have not seen a toothbrush of construction similar to my toothbrush.
In accordance with the usual procedure, I have conducted a patent search which revealed the following patents which were considered to be the closest to my invention:
______________________________________ U.S. 2,244,615 Garcin June 3, 1941 U.S. 4,328,604 Adams May 11, 1982 U.S. 4,517,701 Stanford, Jr. May 21, 1985 U.S. 5,027,463 Daub July 2, 1991 ______________________________________
U.S. Pat. No. 2,244,615 to Garcin describes a toothbrush wherein lateral rows of bristles are longer than middle rows thus forming a longitudinal channel by which the brush will be guided by the teeth whose inner and outer sides are brushed at the same time by the lateral rows of bristles while the cusps are brushed by the short middle bristles. Another characteristic is that the lateral bristles have preferably an oblique position in the transverse direction, and their ends converge towards the middle longitudinal plane so that the ends of these bristles act at a better angle upon the lateral faces of the teeth.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,328,604 to Adams describes a toothbrush in which ordinary toothbrush bristles are affixed to a first surface of the toothbrush handle at the end thereof, in the usual and customary manner, and mouth bristles, which are shorter and more flexible than the aforesaid toothbrush bristles, are attached to and/or protrude from all exposed surfaces of the toothbrush handle beginning at that end of the toothbrush handle which has the toothbrush bristles attached and ending at some point along the length of the toothbrush handle which coincides roughly with the point at which the toothbrush bristles are no longer attached to the toothbrush handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,701 to Stanford, Jr., describes a toothbrush provided specifically for cleaning sulcular areas of the teeth below the gum line. The brush head is curved and has bristles extending from opposite sides thereof, facilitating an improved access to the teeth, particularly at the gingival margins. In one embodiment, the bristles are arranged in rows which may be canted inward along the curve, with tufts on opposite sides of the curved brushing head providing access to oppositely curved dental profiles. In a second embodiment, the bristles are arranged in a single row on a miniaturized brush head. The miniaturized arrangement is particularly suited for cleaning of the sulcular areas, both at and below the gum lines in the treatment of periodontal diseases.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,463 to Daub describes a power-driven toothbrush which includes a bristle support member which anchors bristles from opposite surfaces thereof. The bristles are arranged in longitudinal rows including central rows, intermediate rows, and outer rows. The central rows are straight while the intermediate and outer rows are curved for engaging the lingual and buccal surfaces.